The Strange Trip of Keonte Kennedy

[xukeith]

This is a tough statement to prove, but I don't believe KK was "above average" his freshman year. He averaged 12 minutes per game and played in a total of 22 games that season, and averaged a measly 2 points. He played in 19 and 24 games in his other 2 seasons so 22 games is not a small sample for KK. He played 11 minutes against Creighton on February 3rd of that year, then he quit on his team and went home.

KK didn't get a great shot at playing time his only year at Xavier. His minutes dropped off significantly after the first of the year. I blame Travis Steele as much as any for the lack of development by Kennedy and his departure.

I agree with you. My point : I am willing to guess that the average D1 basketball player does not start, does not score more than 6 points, and does not play more than 20 minutes a game. KK has developed(post XU) at UTEP into a dependable guard. I say he is above average for his career.

Average basketball players in D1 do not score 14 ppg
Do I know this to be a fact? No. I am guessing/estimating.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

I agree with you. My point : I am willing to guess that the average D1 basketball player does not start, does not score more than 6 points, and does not play more than 20 minutes a game. KK has developed(post XU) at UTEP into a dependable guard. I say he is above average for his career.

Average basketball players in D1 do not score 14 ppg
Do I know this to be a fact? No. I am guessing/estimating.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your post. But, are you saying KK averaged 14 pts per game? If you are, that just isn't correct. I don't know where he stands among other first year X players. He saw some minutes in the non-conference schedule but that's when most frosh at X see most of their playing time. He was disappointed once the conference season began and that is when he left the team.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

I agree with you. My point : I am willing to guess that the average D1 basketball player does not start, does not score more than 6 points, and does not play more than 20 minutes a game. KK has developed(post XU) at UTEP into a dependable guard. I say he is above average for his career.

Average basketball players in D1 do not score 14 ppg
Do I know this to be a fact? No. I am guessing/estimating.

My bad. I thought you were saying KK averaged 14 ppg his freshman year at X.

[xavierj]

Probably should pump the breaks on this guy being held back. If Chris Mack was not half way out the door and 100% bought into Xavier, Kennedy would never have even been at Xavier. He has averaged 8 ppg for his career and has taken 8 shots per game to get there. Last year he took 12 shots a game and averaged 14. For his career he has shot threes at a 27% clip and free throws at 60%. All while playing at Utep. Not outstanding.

[Blue Blooded-05]

He took 5 threes per game last year and made .319 of them. Had he stayed he would have fit in well.

[MHettel]

Probably should pump the breaks on this guy being held back. If Chris Mack was not half way out the door and 100% bought into Xavier, Kennedy would never have even been at Xavier. He has averaged 8 ppg for his career and has taken 8 shots per game to get there. Last year he took 12 shots a game and averaged 14. For his career he has shot threes at a 27% clip and free throws at 60%. All while playing at Utep. Not outstanding.

I guess my point is that he seems to have turned out to be more productive than I would have imagined. I do recall that he was a very late commit to us, based mostly on the fact that we had available scholarships late in the cycle (Kaiser leaving?) and there just werent that many uncommitted guys left. I thought it was a reach, but with little downside. We either get Kennedy or some other 2Star level guy....whats the difference. Or, we just leave the scholarship empty. No risk at all to take him under those circumstances.

Then we saw him play a little and it was kind of what you would expect. We had a short roster and I recall that Q was injured for a long stretch. Kennedy got some minutes and looked like a mediocre Freshman. When he transferred, I figured he'd drop down a notch and never be heard from again.

UTEP is not bad. Not Duke, but not Fordham. And he put up some decent numbers and apparently is a great defender. Memphis would be considered a High Major. He has achieved more than I think I would have reasonably expected.

Also, if he was at UTEP, he would have played with Boum last year, right? Wonder if that was any factor in Boum coming to X. You have to assume that Boum would have asked Kennedy about his experience right? If so, he must have given some positive feedback....

[drudy23]

He took 5 threes per game last year and made .319 of them. Had he stayed he would have fit in well.

He would have had the ultra green light with that percentage.

Man I don't miss Steele.

[IM4X]

He would have had the ultra green light with that percentage.

Man I don't miss Steele.

I wonder how well that brilliant strategy of his is working out for him at those Miami practices. “It’s like I tell my guys… if you’re open from three, just shoot it… eventually they’ll start falling.”

[Xuperman]

Keonte started for Memphis, but didn't do well...... terrible line.

[drudy23]

I wonder how well that brilliant strategy of his is working out for him at those Miami practices. “It’s like I tell my guys… if you’re open from three, just shoot it… eventually they’ll start falling.”

Analytics, man!